In my role on the Home Affairs Select Committee in Parliament, I regularly question heads of organisations and companies in the interest of public scrutiny.
Last week I questioned Paul Pugh, the Chief Executive of the Passport Office, and asked him why and what was going on at the passport office that was making people’s applications take so long. My robust questioning was broadcast Live on Sky News on Tuesday afternoon.
There are usually around 150,000 passport applications a week. The expected time for processing is three weeks, although that is not a guaranteed time. There are currently about 50,000 passports which have fallen beyond the three week time-frame.
The Government have ordered the Passport Office to bring in extra staff and arrange priority applications for many cases at no extra cost. The Chief Executive did apologise for the distress his department had caused for people needing to travel abroad, and urgent action is now being taken.
I have helped several constituents get their passports through the system in the past fortnight by intervening with the Passport Office on their behalf.
It is important that Parliament has the opportunity to scrutinise these organisations in committees like mine and make sure their standards are up to scratch to meet the public’s demand.